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HORTICULTUKE 



September 4, 1920 



SEPTEMBER 

 There is a sparkle in the air today, 

 the leaves glisten in the sunshine, the 

 grass is radiant and the fields are full 

 of goldenrod and yellow tansy. The 

 sumachs have lighted their red torches. 

 Queen Anne is dropping her laces and 

 building nests. The dreamy charm of 

 listless August is passing into the 

 vigor of the autumn. We must bestir 

 ourselves and prepare for the gather- 

 ing of our harvests, the red apples and 

 purple grapes. The summer flowers 

 are passing, but the charm of the 

 Michaelmas daisy is by our roadsides. 

 Even the clouds seem to be getting 

 busy for they are no longer forming 

 great dreamy pictures in the skies. In 

 the West there is a golden haze. Did 

 George Fuller paint all his pictures in 

 the witchery of September? We do 

 not know, but as we take our West- 

 ward way and see the trucks haul- 

 ing the harvests home, we think 

 the old order changeth, but the 

 elixir of the autumn is the same as in 

 the old days when Emerson wrote. — 

 "One harvest from thy field 

 Homeward brought the over strong 



.\ second crop thine acres yield 

 Which I gather in a song." 



M. R. Case. 

 Hillcrest Gardens, Weston, 

 September 1, 1920. 



THE JAPANESE BEETLE 

 The daily pa|)ers have given consid- 

 erable publicity to the green Japanesi' 

 beetle ( Popillia japonica) now occu- 

 pying a territory of about 15,000 

 acres in Burlington and Camden 

 counties in New .Jersey not far from 

 Philadelphia. It has also been found 

 around Torresdale. Pa., just across the 

 river. 



This insect was imi)orted from 

 Japan, probably upon nursery stock. 

 It was first noticed in 1916 by in- 

 spectors of the New Jersey State De- 

 partment of Agriculture. In Japan 

 the beetle is not considered a serious 

 pest, but in this country without its 

 native parasites (as is the case with 

 all imported pests) conditions are fa- 

 vorable for its development and 

 spread. 



The adult beetle does the destruc- 

 tive work feeding upon weeds, truck 

 crops, especially corn; as well as or- 

 chard, and shade trees. Thev work in 



the day lime, instead of at night as is 

 the case with a similar species, the 

 common May beetle. The leaves are 

 skeletonized causing them to turn 

 brown and eventually fall. Most of 

 the beetles are in flight during July 

 and August. 



The Japanese beetle is a little larger 

 than the potato bettle and more elon- 

 gate. The head and thorax are shining 

 bronze green and the elytra or wing 

 covers are brownish, tinged with 

 green at the edges. On the sides are 

 conspicuous white spots which are 

 characteristic of this species and dis- 

 tinguish it from other beetles of this 

 size. 



The eggs are laid in the soil during 

 the summer. The grubs when full 

 grown are nearly one inch in length 

 and white with a tan colored head. 

 They resemble the common white 

 grub. It has been found, however, 

 that they do no appreciative harm to 

 growing plants since they prefer de- 

 composing vegetable matter to living 

 roots. The grubs mature the follow- 

 ing spring, there being but one brood 

 a year. 



Control. At present efforts are be- 

 ing made to prevent the spread of the 



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